FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to an oscillator structure having at least one oscillator circuit and at least one resonator.
Oscillators are electronic oscillation generators, i.e. circuits for producing electrical oscillations. The electrical oscillations generally have a sinusoidal waveform. However, a different waveform, for example in the form of a square, sawtooth, triangular or delta shape, is also possible. The oscillators contain an amplifier and at least one feedback device. An effect produced by the feedback device is that part of an output signal from the amplifier is fed back to its input.
A multiplicity of electronic devices contain an oscillator. Besides signal generators, function generators and pulse generators, transmitters and receivers in the radiofrequency to microwave range are of particular interest.
An oscillator structure of that generic type may, in particular, be a VCO (voltage controlled oscillator), which is stabilized by a resonator.
A special feature of a VCO is that its frequency can be controlled by a voltage applied to it. The oscillator is stabilized by using a resonator. VCOs are suitable both for logic circuits and for radiofrequency applications. When used in the radiofrequency range, an oscillatory response can be tuned by a varactor diode, for example. That allows the oscillator structure to be used in the gigahertz range.
The known oscillator structures have proved themselves in many different ways in practice. However, the large dimensions of the oscillator structure are a disadvantage.